As an aspiring artist myself, I sometimes feel that the lack of funding that I have limits the quality of music I can make. All of these artists in the mainstream make the quality of music that they do because they have the money to purchase the most expensive equipment to record and listen with. It can get pretty discouraging even causing me to lose my inspiration. But then an album comes along that rejuvenates that inspiration. An album simple in its form but potent in its quality. an album like The Velvet Underground & Nico.
The reason I’m talking about this album today is because its a testament to how much work an artist (or band) can get done without that any money. The Velvet Underground formed in New York City in 1964. When they burst onto the scene they weren’t very well known but they did get a co-sign by Andy Warhol the famous artist. Warhol is credited as a producer on the album, and he was the also the band’s manager (even though he never managed a band before). Warhol is also the one who introduced Nico to the group. When they dropped their self-titled first album, they didn’t sell many records, and it wasn’t until Lou Reed, the frontman for the group, gained commercial success a decade later that people knew about this album. Once it was known to the mainstream it became a generational classic, marking a new wave in artists that started to make music on their own, without the backing of a major label.
This album had barely any backing behind it, with the exception of Warhol, and even then it didn’t sell well. The amazing thing about this album is that the recording was done with vey minimal equipment and money. It was recorded between 1 and 4 days, and reportedly costed around $3,000 dollars to record.
The Velvet Underground and Nico, and Andy Warhol (Second from the left)
Amidst the gems on this album, there a lot of technical flaws. Take the track Femme Fatale, written by Lou Reed and sang by Nico. (I suggest to listen on a streaming service like Apple Music or Spotify for the best quality)
Femme Fatale
Near the 1:10 mark you can hear Nico’s vocals start to distort. Even though it is a flaw on the album they kept it (probably because they didn’t have the time money or general opportunity to record it again). And in a weird way it adds to the overall feel of the album. Its just another example of how the raw recordings match how raw these guys were in the music scene.
Lou Reed (Left) Nico (Right)
Heroin
Heroin is a song that took incredible vision to create. Lou Reed used heroin during this time and with this song it seems like he was trying to convey what it felt like to be on Heroin. The song only has 2 chords going back and forth, and its made up of only 4 main instruments: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Drums, and an Electric Viola. I can’t explain it but Lou Reed’s rambling lyrics, along with the tempo constantly building up and slowing down (but never seeming to stopping). That sinister viola going on throughout building up to one of the most disturbing climaxes to a song that I’ve ever heard, all of the sounds that they put into this song conveyed a disturbed confused mind of Lou Reed, in an original and simple way.
The fact that they managed to create such a grand sound with such little tools and money is amazing to me and inspires me to this day. And oh – yeah this is all done in 1967, before any of the stuff we have now to make music at home, and during a time when nothing sounded like this. Truly in a class of their own, and it took a decade for people to realize it.
My Sound Science 
You are almost there. All I needed was for you to keep blending the personal with the analysis. You did a phenomenal job at setting up the reason for choosing this particular topic by expressing your frustration with the quality of your equipment, and how important of an example this specific work is to you, but then you left all that behind and simply analyzed songs and style, and retold history.
What I wanted was for you to keep inserting bits of your experience and story in there. How has this taught you to embrace imperfections? Have you begun to make music and art that actually uses imperfections and imperfect quality to your advantage? Inspirations are great, but if we don’t then show how they inspired, then they remain canon and we are just talking about what someone else accomplished, and what’s the point of a blog then?
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Karim!!! okay last week I couldn’t get into Pink Floyd but The Velvet Underground I definitely can. I really like reading all of the research into the songs and artists and albums each week but I want to hear why the songs/artist/album resonates with you! What about the lyrics or the beats of the song stand out to you and how do they make you feel? How did the viola and the climax of the song make you feel before during and after?? Just get a little more personal mixed in with the facts and then it’ll be perfect, but as usual you did an awesome job!!
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I dont know if you are aware of this, but in NYC this week a new exhibit about the Velvet Underground just opened, actually today, it runs till December 30th. Velvet Underground Experience, 718 Broadway, NY, NY. My friends were there for the opening reception and loved it, I have personally not listened to them a lot, but last night I was jamming to Femme Fatale, they were really good. You gave us very interesting facts, I mean I never doubted that these people were high out of their minds, but it was cool to know which drug let to what song.
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I always learn something new when I read your blog! It’s amazing because you have such a vast catalogue of beautiful, but unknown, music. It’s fascinating, honestly. You give such a background to these artists that is obviously researched and deep, but you make it understandable. I wish I could also learn more about you personally and how your music taste shapes you as a person. Can’t wait for next week!
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